Studio Laguna

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways..."
I asked Katrina from Studio Laguna to come to my home and photograph my family. We all had such a great time, I am going to make it an annual event! She captured, in a photo journalistic style, our family doing what we love--making/eating popcorn and playing outside. The images she captured took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes, I simply LOVE them. See some of the many images she captured on her blog http://stulagu.bigfolioblog.com scroll down to the entry titled Sunny Fall Day.

If you are looking for a photographer for an event, wedding or just need pics of the family, Katrina is the real deal.

And, as with most guests to our home, I gave her a dozen eggs from our chickens. The giant one was a double yolk! nice.

Laura and Dustin

Laura and Dustin were married in September at the Millennium Garden in Plymouth. I had a real soft spot for this couple. Laura is the niece of a dear friend and she chose Leonidas roses as part of her bouquet. (I carried them in my wedding as well :) I love the rust colored, two tone Leonidas, seen on the cake too. The bouquets looked great against the apple red maids dresses and the flower girls were sweet--always willing to pose for the camera! Thank you to Kemmetmueller Photography for these images.



Walking the Labyrinth

En Masse

One of my philosophies as a floral designer is to put flowers in places where people are going to appreciate them, whether it is in the home or at a large event. Quality over quantity, especially if your budget is small. If a bride has a small budget for flowers I say "Use most of your budget on your bouquet and go light on the rest. Everyone will be looking at you [the bride] anyway." One or two of these displays at a wedding is all you need to showcase your favorite flowers, on a budget.

You can do this display yourself, if you feel comfortable. Go to Good Will, garage sales, thrift stores and collect containers in a similar style or material. In this case I chose clear glass. Each vase has its own type of flower. In this photo you can see white cushion mums, green cushion mums, tall green penny crest and oh so pretty white button mums. They look great all together and this would be a perfect display for a place card table, dessert table, etc. Make sure to put this display where your you and your guests can "ohhh" at it all night. Order the flowers in bulk from Costco, a favorite floral shop, or me :)

The great thing about mums...they last a very long time. These arrangements have been sitting in my studio for at least 4 or 5 days. You may ask "What should I put on the guest tables if I don't have flowers?" My answer to you is "Candles. As many as you can afford." They are cheaper than flowers and they give a romantic mood, more so than any flowers could. Trust me. I think I need to blog about candles next...

wine goes with everything

Kristin and Jim were married in September. It just so happens the groom's last name is Norton and the couple incorporated a wine of the same name into the reception decor. Love the cool detail! Looks like wine colored flowers were on the menu as well. Black baccara roses, deep red calla lilies and dahlia. The intimate and gorgeous images are from A Truth Be Shown Photography, thanks Gina!






The bride knew what she wanted to see against the chocolate brown maids dresses--great pops of color. Fuscia ranunculus, red cockscomb celosia and green buplerum fit the request alongside black baccara roses and red dahlias. Green skimmia leaves encircle the bouquet.

With the bride and her mom leading the way, a team of friends and family created the reception centers using bulk flowers they ordered through Ashley Fox Designs. Way to go!


Congratulations, you two, it was an absolute pleasure working with you!

Whites and Greens

Metro Magazine asked me to put together some moss and white flower spheres for their lounge area at this weekend's The Affair Expo at the Convention Center. If you want style ideas for your wedding or just planning a party for friends or a large business group, then you might find your inspiration at The Affair Expo. There are booths showing off cakes, interior design ideas, creative, formal table settings and more.

The moss spheres were fun to make, messy, but fun, and the final product is neat and clean, yet soft and approachable. The white button mum spheres were also fun to make and smelled great too. They will live for a few days because they are in floral oasis foam. Other flowers I used in the order: white hydrangea, dendrobium orchids, gerbera daisies and green penny crest.

I love the chandelier from Linen Effects, when topped with 9 moss spheres it has a whole new feel.

Married In A Garden

Katy and Tom were married in August at Arneson Gardens in Edina and reception for 30 people at Cozy's Steak and Seafood next to the Galleria. I loved this ceremony location. Easy to get to, quiet, pretty and near many wonderful reception sites and restaurants. The bright color scheme they chose was so fun to work with. The bright colors said "We are going to have a glorious day and no one can stop us!" The weather was beautiful and so was the bride, her maid and flower girl. Her bouquet stem pin is a loaner from my personal collection of antique pins and jewelry. I loved working with Katy and Tom. They are sweet natured and easy going. Thanks to Mortenson Photography for many of the wonderful images.

Autumn is my favorite

Autumn has my favorite everything: colors, temperature, plant textures and my birthday and wedding anniversary also happen to "fall" in the month of October. So I was very happy when Studio Laguna Photography asked me to deck out their front yard last weekend for Halloween/Autumn season. I loved setting out the Jardale pumpkins (white/green color), mix of grasses and berries, along with a game of gourd tick tac toe and chandelier with gourd candles to greet you at the entry. The carpet of yellow and orange sugar maple leaves were an excellent backdrop. They kept the leaves in the yard and didn't rake for the occasion. So smart. Many thanks to Studio Laguna for these images!